Fool of Me
by blackindiaink
Summary: The Bellas escape to the Posen's beach house for a week of sun, surf, and emotional uproar. Chloe and Beca's new relationship will be tested and Aubrey finds herself on a new journey.
1. Chapter 1

Wind blew her hair back as she beat a hasty retreat. Away from Aubrey, away from the mistrust, and into something that she could handle. Just like that she was left without a part of herself. It was ripped away and replaced with whatever or whoever she could find to fill the schism.

Then she stumbled into Beca, someone that made her smile without effort. Aubrey was still there by her side reminding her of what they almost had but it didn't matter when she had someone who actually admitted to liking her. It made her repudiate the mess that had come before.

That's what she was forgetting, leaving it where it belonged: behind them. She breathed a deep sigh, glad to take in the deceptively soft smell of Beca's skin. It was Friday night, their first night on vacation. Aubrey and Chloe always flew down to the Posen family beach house for a week during the summer and this time they had invited the Bella's.

High off their victory at the ICCA, they were they very definitions of rowdy and ruckus. During the flight Chloe swore she saw regret on Aubrey's face but it could have just been the bad airplane food. Indigestion was a far more likely culprit for her discomfort, not the sight of Chloe draped around someone else.

Even hours later it was all still running laps around her mind and taking her concentration with it. Memories and present feelings were competing for ruling spots. It was all in her head. She had crossed a new bridge and burned up the path to the other side.

Sand fell through her fingers as she raised her hand, full of it's slight weight. Maybe they were like sand, just particles falling away from each other forever waiting to be washed away. Lost in the moment, she didn't notice anything else, even the girl sitting right beside her.

"What are you thinking?" Beca's fingers traipsed across her chin, redirecting her gaze. "You're never quiet for this long."

Chloe snorted, raising her fingers to wrap around Beca's palm. "Says you." She flashed a smile and then let it fall. "If I talk more around you it's only because you're the most monosyllabic person I've ever dated." She kissed the sides of Beca's fingers, going from one to the next, as she pulled the hand they were attached to away from her face. "I'm just filling in the gaps."

One more kiss punctuated her sentence and she finally lowered their clasped hands to her lap. "Besides, I'm a brilliant conversationalist."

"Oh, I see." Beca drew the words out to vowels of disbelief. "That's right, I forgot that I'm supposed to bow down to your superior verbal skills."

"Well, I did get a 800 verbal score on the SAT. Chloe nodded once and drew Beca in closer. "But verbal isn't the most fun thing I can do with my mouth." Their noses were almost touching and their eyes locked.

The sunset behind them bathed the beach in a pink glow and waves lapped at their toes, the sound urging them toward each other. Their lips met, finding perfect cadence with each other. Sweet kisses developed into needful gasps. That was what broke them apart in the end because they really didn't mind the encroachment of the water.

Too much more and they would be undressing each other in a very public place. Not venturing far, only inches remained between them, Chloe swallowed. She was here, only in this moment. Living for this was her new quest.

"Are you two done?"

They jumped, Chloe falling back and away from Beca's arms. Aubrey stared down at them, her face betraying nothing but annoyance.

"The food is getting cold." Aubrey crossed her arms over her chest to defend against the breeze coming off the water. "I didn't cook it all so it would go to waste." Her lips formed a strict line and she looked off to the horizon.

Beca sighed, mystified by Aubrey's ever changing moods. They had started to become friends, after a fashion, but as soon as she and Chloe hooked up they were back to the beginning. The chill was starting to piss her off a little. It wasn't as if she monopolized Chloe's time or threatened their friendship in anyway.

One glance at Chloe told her that it was a useless battle. A part of her girlfriend would always follow Aubrey's direction. "We're coming." She stood and held out a hand to Chloe. "M'lady."

With a giggle, Chloe accepted. "Thanks." She ignored Aubrey and grabbed Beca's hand, pulling her along. "Come on, Aubrey may be rude but she knows how to cook."

Aubrey watched them pass, the irritation crystallizing in her mind and turning to hard rock, just another layer of cold stone to protect her. She turned to the ocean, grateful for it's lack of humanity. The wind, the salt smell, the beautiful sky, they all filled her with a sense of wonder but unlike love, they would never render her heart into individual bleeding fragments.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! I'm not going to lie to you guys. There is going to be some major angst and craziness in this one. Don't get discouraged though, happy(ish) endings are a must. To my dear Anastasia thank you for your advice and continued support. As for you, Katie, I have a feeling you're going to be happy with how crazy, angsty, and dark this is.

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A triangle of tension extended at obtuse angles across the room. Though, only three people were aware of it, the atmosphere was thickening with it. Beca sat, trying to ignore the silent war being fought between Chloe and Aubrey. Neither of them could pretend they didn't care. Every show of casual neglect was a blatant exacerbation of the discordance.

Aubrey stared down at her plate full of the dinner she had failed to eat. There was no way this could go on for a week. She would have to do something, go somewhere. Ever since Beca and Chloe started to date she found herself lost. Her past was wrought with direction and it was an ever forward trajectory. She just hadn't budgeted for emotional turmoil. She was about to run out of patience with all the confusion.

"Aubrey, did you hear her?"

Chloe's question cut through the cacophony. "Huh?" Stacie, Beca, Chloe, and Amy, they all looked at her as if she should be answering some obvious question. "What?"

"We're going to the beach for a walk. Do you want to go?" Stacie asked.

It would be nice to be out in the breeze, smelling the air, experiencing the night but the solitude of an empty house was also appealing. Amy nudged her when she didn't answer.

"Come on, captain."

"Fine," Aubrey agreed. At least it was dark. She could pretend she was the only one out there. Without waiting for the rest she stood and started to pick up everyones plates. Chloe quickly hopped up and started to help, grabbing her plate along with Beca's.

They went to the kitchen where they could hear the ambient sounds of the other Bellas conversation. Everything was silent. There were no words to say that wouldn't insult the stillness between them. So, the sound of china and flatware being cleaned joined the voices from the other room, taking over the air.

Chloe stole a glance at Aubrey. She was not herself. She was stoic instead of dynamic and showing sorrow outside the wall she used to keep the world at bay. Her eyes flicked over Aubrey's hands as she scraped the food she hadn't eaten into the trash, then to her form. She looked skinnier.

Beca brought in the last of the plates, looking from one girl to the other, knowing that she wouldn't break through whatever web held them together. Instead of helping she simply left them to it, choosing to join the other girls who were getting ready for their walk.

Aubrey straightened from her stooped position over the trash and set the last plate in the sink where Chloe picked it up to give it a quick rinse before depositing it in the dishwasher. The angle at which she stood gave Aubrey a perfect view of her profile. This person that had such an effect on everything she thought and felt was lost to her. Through her own actions and words she created the gulf. The moment this captured her consciousness she found Chloe starring back at her. She looked away and slid past the sink. "You should go get ready."

Chloe fidgeted with the dish towel on the counter, only partially drying her hands as was her intention. "Aren't you coming?" Aubrey's back faced her, the only thing she could see.

"Yeah," Aubrey replied, taking two steps before stopping as if she wanted to say something more.

It was beginning to be unbearable. Chloe's mouth opened, closed, and opened once again, words threatening to tumble out. Yet, she had none. At least no words of meaning. ."Okay." That was all she managed to say before she brushed past Aubrey to go change.

In the bedroom she shared with Beca there was solace. When they were together she remembered that there was someone who was brave with her. It was a surprise when the odds turned and Beca confessed her feelings by the most direct method possible. One hard kiss after the winners were announced at the ICCAs. She was won by the brazen action and warmed by the genuine affection Beca showered her with.

She grabbed a light, knitted top and shed her shirt, replacing it with her bikini top. The knitted cover went over that, ending just at the waistband of her short denim shorts. She was beach ready. Before she could turn she felt the presence and a second later arms slipped around her from behind. Her frown pushed up until it was a smile.

"I like watching you change," Beca whispered. She stood on her tip toes so she could get her face as close to Chloe's ear as possible.

"Kinky," Chloe shot back.

Beca's response was to tug her closer. "What can I say? You've turned me into a voyeur. The tight grip of Beca's fingers on her skin gave Chloe balance. She had reason to hope, see, and be alive again. She felt more like herself now than in the last year of secret assignations and silent, muffled love with Aubrey.

-Six months ago-

Chloe's fingers curled with the pleasure of Aubrey's attentions. One flick of her wet tongue and Chloe was gone, over the moon and then back down to earth being held by Aubrey's strong arms as she worked her way back up to the pillow from her place under the covers. "Ah, that was…"

"Yeah," Aubrey cooed. She was quite proud of herself. Making Chloe come without the use of her hands was a game to her now. Sometimes she could even achieve it without going any farther than Chloe's belly button.

It was always like this, sudden and short. Their time together was snatched between responsibility and keeping up appearances. It was beginning to wear on Chloe. She wasn't a secretive person.

"Okay, we should get ready. They'll wonder why we've been gone so long." Aubrey grabbed her shirt and started to put it on, while Chloe lay back on the bed.

"Can't we just stay here for awhile. No one cares where we went. It's not like we're hosting the party anyway."

The stiffening of Aubrey's shoulders gave the indication that she was pushing the point. "We've talked about this." She turned, pulling Chloe's hand toward her and twining their fingers. "It has to be this way."

She had heard it before. "Yeah, yada… yada. Posen reputation and upholding tradition, whatever." She used Aubrey's grip against her and pulled her back toward the bed. "When are you going to admit that this is real and that we have something more than just a fling?"

Aubrey sighed deeply. "You know that I know that. I just can't be… out." She whispered the word as if the walls could hear and report it to the world. "I love you but I just can't."

Those words popped out. Aubrey didn't mean for them to be said. She wanted to take them back. Being that honest hadn't been something she planned and she needed it to not be out there. "We need to go."

She stood up, leaving Chloe laying in the messy sheets half hope, half agony.


	3. This is Dangerous

**Thank you all for the reviews! You're kind and keep them coming, if you please. Katie, stay tuned. ;) You know me and my penchant for the dramatic. Also, check out the song inspiration for this chapter. Landfill by Daughter **

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Once in awhile Chloe would get lost in something and Beca wasn't sure what it was. She went somewhere else for a minute. Her eyes remained still and she seemed to look inward. The first time she noticed it, Beca asked but now she knew what answer she would get. It was useless. If Chloe didn't want to talk about it, she couldn't force her. Even if it was maddening to not know.

They sat on the beach in the early morning hours. The sun lifted slowly over the horizon, splashing the dull sky with brilliant shades of pink and purple. Light, reflected off the clouds and made the sky look like a painting from a dream.

"You know I'm not one for sappy shit but that sky is pretty beautiful." Beca pushed some sand around with her foot and continued to look out over the ocean.

"Yeah," Chloe said. She linked her arm around Beca's and turned her torso sideways, nestling in. "I love when the sky's like this. It's like there's all this possibility out there and I feel like I can actually grab it and do something that will make me happy." She rubbed her hose against Beca's shoulder to get rid of the itch that had cropped up when the wind blew her hair across her face.

Beca tilted her head so she could look at Chloe in her periphery. "What do you mean? Are you not happy?"

Chloe blinked when she caught the downturn in tone. "No, I'm happy. I'm just ready to do something with my life." She shrugged the shoulder that wasn't hampered by Beca's side. "I've got my bachelors and now I have to actually make a decision about grad school. I don't want more school. I want to start helping people."

Beca flexed her hand around Chloe's forearm. "You will, but there's just some things you have to get through first. You know like, med school." Light reflected off of Chloe's hair giving rise to the urge. Beca leaned the few inches between them and kissed the top of Chloe's head. "You've turned me into the voice of reason. What the hell?"

Raising herself up, Chloe looked at Beca. "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing." Her face broke into a smile and she gently punched Beca in the arm. "That's my job." She settled back down and continued to watch the waves roll in.

Aubrey watched them from down the beach. She had escaped here in the wee hours, finding her favorite place amongst the rocky outcroppings. The cliff face soared above her but where the rock met the beach there was a little crevice that her body just fit in. She could stand here and watch the world without being detected.

She was regarded as a good person by most. She tried too hard. That, she had been told by more than a few. She could get angry and throw tantrums. At her core she wanted the best for Chloe. That was why she pushed her away. Weakness made Aubrey pull her back in, the need to keep Chloe close burned through her all the while.

Beca was better. Even if she didn't really like her at first, Beca was better for Chloe. She could give her more. Aubrey had nothing left to give that wouldn't make her mind come crashing down. So, it was better this way. It would be even more advantageous if Aubrey could just disappear altogether. Perhaps, then she could rest.

"Enough," she whispered to herself.

These thoughts would not do. She turned and withdrew her body from the space between the rock and started walking toward the crude rock stairs that led to the top of the cliff. Her feet caught on the first step and she stumbled but she kept going. It was slippery and everything told her to go back: the wind against her face, the way she kept failing to find purchase with her feet, and the quickness of her breath. Yet, she kept climbing using the occasional small, scraggly tree or bush that grew out of the rock to pull herself along.

She reached the top and shuffled along the edge of the cliff. It jutted out over the water like a tiny peninsula. The grass was green and new under her feet, wet from the rain that came in the night. Her arms were extended out to help with balance and she peeked over the edge once she was at the outermost point of the land.

The wind whipped at her clothes, pushing her further toward the edge. She kept her arms out, lifted her face to the sky with her eyes closed and savored the feeling of flying. There was a freedom in the height. Down below there was only water, she could no longer see the beach where Beca and Chloe would probably still be sitting together.

Together, that was what she wanted. Forget, logic told her. Think of the future. She would be someone that she was supposed to be. That would be the comfort. The air was cool and wet and she just wanted to exist here for a little longer before she had to go, but the feeling of Chloe's body on hers when she woke up that morning long since gone, preyed on her mind.

She wanted that again. It was as delicious as a ripe fruit hanging before her. She could smell the soft flowery press of Chloe's hair across her bare chest. She swallowed the thought, begging it to digest into a colorless memory with no meaning. It stuck in her throat and her body wavered with the sob that came from below ramming the memory's full sense into her mind.

Then she was falling, the unexpected movement of her body having provided momentum. Her arms swirled uselessly against the air and adrenaline kept her from fully recognizing what was happening until she met the cold water seventy feet later. She gasped as it surrounded her, taking water into her mouth. There was no air as her body was tossed about in the surf.

She was tugged about by the current and the waves, unable to surface. She wanted to fight but the sea was so strong so her body was beat about like a doll, lifeless and haphazard. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was a flash of red and blue. Chloe's smile, unfocused, too close to her face.


	4. Get This Feeling

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep them coming. Let me know what you like and don't like! Without further ado, here is the twist. **

Light was the first thing that broke through the murk. It warmed her face, the impression of it penetrating through her eyelids. Her hand shot up to fend it off and the fuzzy thought that this was the quintessential moment of death drifted through her mind.

It was disconcerting but awareness demanded her eyes open wide. So, she let the veil raise and found herself staring into sunlight filtering in through sheer curtains. The edge of a soft cotton blanket tickled her chin as she started to move. When she tested her arms, she found that they worked and so did her hands. Flexing her fingers, she managed the forward motion needed to sit up, letting the blanket pool in her lap. That's when the pounding headache set in.

She was sitting on a soft, plaid couch that was just long enough to accommodate her full body. Her hands gripped the edge of the well worn cushion. Even though her body ached there was a sense of comfort surrounding her. The room came into focus and she could tell that she was in some sort of cabin, one that was decorated with an eclectic selection of artwork, furniture, and knick-knacks.

The room was small, maybe the size of her bedroom in the beach house but this was obviously a living room. The heat from the fire reached her from the stone hearth to her left. It was a cheery fire. One that could have come straight out of a movie. In fact the whole room was rather picturesque.

She jumped when a whistling came from the next room. It definitely didn't help the headache. The noise was quickly followed by the sound of footsteps and the rattle of metal. She pushed up with her hands and stood with a little effort. The possible danger of her situation became clear. She was in a place she didn't recognize, with god knows who, and her physical state wasn't exactly up to par. If she had to get away quickly, it wouldn't be easy.

She inched along the wood floor, wincing when the old boards creaked under her weight. When nothing happened, she continued toward the other room. The sound of pouring water stopped her, but no one came into view so she went on. Once she was about to turn the corner from the living room into what appeared to be the kitchen, a face appeared. She lept back, frozen in place, eyes wide.

"You want some tea?"

Twelve hours without word and Chloe was going mad. She paced the deck of the beach house, waiting for some kind of word about Aubrey's whereabouts. She couldn't help but think the the worst. Aubrey, dead or dying somewhere out there. The plague of a thought was like a train going round and round inside her, causing nausea and panic.

Beca had given up trying to comfort her and instead was helping Stacie and Amy call all the local hospitals. There was no getting through to the place that Chloe's mind had gone. So, she watched her girlfriend walk up and down, wearing herself out and working through the stress. If this went on for much longer Beca knew that Chloe would make herself sick.

It was sad but a part of her was resentful of the way Chloe was acting. It was yet another symptom of Aubrey's hold over her on display, but the jealousy was another rotten thing that she shoved down into the reservoir of emotions that she didn't want to feel.

Stacie hit end on her call and set her cell on the kitchen table, looking over at Beca and then out to Chloe. "She's really freaking out," she commented. The sentence applied to both Chloe and Beca though. Stacie wasn't as dense as she let people believe. She could see the tenuous strings connecting Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey. They were all pretty aware that something was off but only Stacie had figured out the truth that lay beneath Chloe and Aubrey's stifled relationship.

Aubrey was forever pulling Chloe along and now Beca was hitched to Chloe, only half realizing that her life was now tangled in the mess that the other two had created. Beca hadn't even bothered to saying anything back so Stacie reached out and nudged her arm. "It's going to be okay. We'll find her and Chloe will go back to normal."

Beca snapped into focus and blinked. "Yeah, I'm just not sure everything will be okay even if we find her and she's perfectly fine. Chloe may realize that she and I..." She swiveled her head away from the window so she could look at Stacie instead of Chloe's ever constant motion. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Stacie's lips pursed. "But I don't think that's going to happen. Chloe's not an idiot. She knows you guys are perfect together."

The back door burst open and Chloe stuck her head in. "Anything?" Her eyes cut through them both. "Well?" She demanded, even though only a second had passed.

"Nothing," Stacie answered. She glanced over at Beca's closed face and back to Chloe. "It's fine. It's good actually. This just means that she hasn't been hurt and taken to the hospital."

Now, Beca allowed herself to look at her girlfriend. "Listen to Stacie. She's right."

Fire brewed in Chloe's face. The sense of inaction incensed her. "Seriously!" Her hand smacked the door jam hard but the pain didn't show in her features. "She could be dead somewhere on the beach being picked apart by birds and you're telling me it's good that she's not at the hospital? And the cops won't do anything until twenty-four hours is up." Chloe moved swiftly to the table and stood in front of Beca. "I'm going to look for her. Are you going to help me?"

The inevitable washed over her. Whatever the outcome she would follow Chloe to the end. If her heart ended up destroyed at least she tried. That was a huge step for her. Hope kept her from experiencing the totality of that possibility. RIght now, they needed to find Aubrey. "Let me get my jacket and I'll meet you outside," she said

"Don't be scared," the girl said.

Aubrey could only look back at her and blink. It was surreal. "Who are you?" She looked young but there was an air of experience about her and an unfathomable quality to her address. Dirty blonde hair cascaded in waves down past her shoulders and her eyes were the color of green sea glass but brighter, almost like a light shone from behind them.

"I'm Piper," the girl said, rounding the corner to stand in the threshold between the kitchen and the living room. She held a mug with the string of a tea bag hanging over the side. "Tea?"

Steam trailed up from the mug but Aubrey didn't take it. The girl was a stranger to her. Her accent sounded familiar but also a bit quirky. Her vowels curled and stretched long like a cat just waking from a nap.

"It's alright," Piper said, holding out the tea again. "You need to drink something. You're dehydrated."

"Where am I?" Aubrey looked about her again and then down at the clothes she was wearing. "And what are these?" She pulled the soft, green tee-shirt away from her body and looked at the graphic printed just below the left breast. It was a crest with a crown above and words around it. _Royal Military Academy Sandhurst _

"I had to put you in some of my clothes because yours were completely done in." Piper set the mug on a side table and moved toward Aubrey. "I found you out on the rocks when I went to secure my boat." Aubrey looked up from the shirt. "You're on my island."

"Your island?" Piper hardly looked like someone who would own an island. "Again, where the hell am I?"

Piper gestured toward the couch. "Why don't we sit down?" In a show of good faith she sat in the chair across the coffee table from where Aubrey woke up. "I'll tell explain everything and then maybe you can tell me who you are?"

_Who she was?_ It wasn't something she had thought to explain but now she didn't know if she could answer that question.


	5. Hope In This Insanity

**Thank you all again for reading and reviewing! I am glad you're back for the next chapter or if you've just tuned in, welcome! Please feel free to tell me what you think. **

High winds battered the coast with a merciless zest. The storm was only supposed to last a day but something, some fate, had suspended it above them. It wouldn't end.

Being trapped inside the house for the past two week had driven Chloe past the point of rationality. She was angry, afraid, and if it weren't for Beca she would have gone out into the storm to look for Aubrey more than once.

Amy had gone, out of necessity. Her flight back to Australia took off the morning after they found Aubrey was missing. As much as she hated to not be a part of the search, she settled for the promise of a phone call when she landed and regular updates after.

Stacie had gone too, leaving Chloe and Beca there to deal with the police. Who had taken their sweet time coming to the house after Chloe called them again after twenty-four hours was up.

Now, they waited just like before, unable to do anything until the storm let up.

"Chloe," Beca said. With one hand she held out a bowl of soup, the last edible thing in the beach house. "You have to eat something."

Rain splattered against the window, obscuring the ocean view. Chloe didn't even turn away from it. She stood, arms crossed, thoughts wandering. "I'm not hungry." she muttered.

The bowl clanked against the maple wood table as Beca set it down, less than carefully. A few drops splashed out, landing on her. "Fuck!" She raised her hand to her mouth and sucked the warm soup off her skin, soothing the burn with the press of her tongue.

"It's been seven days." She waved her hand in the air to keep cooling it. "I don't care if you're hungry. You have to eat."

Chloe wasn't listening because the outside still had her attention. Beca still had no idea how to get through. There had been no warning for this. There was no manual. Chloe wasn't there. She had disappeared into loss and worry. It was something that Beca never would have guessed could happen to the girl that always seemed to have an answer.

Yet, another reason to doubt her own judgement. "At least sit down with me and pretend to eat. She approached her girlfriend and placed a hand on Chloe's arm, wrapping her fingers around the circumference as well as she could. She pulled at her gently, tugging her away from the cold glass and towards the table.

Chloe obeyed the silent direction. She sat and so did Beca. They took up one end of the table, the other lay empty, unlike days ago when their friends sat there laughing and enjoying themselves.

The house seemed to sigh with the absence. "I think I'm going to lay down." Chloe tried to get up but Beca reached out and stopped her.

"You can't. Aubrey's parents will be here soon and the police will be back. Maybe they'll know something."

Chloe looked at her for the first time in hours. "If they knew something they would have called and you can just come get me when they get here. It's not like they care anyway. They waited a week to come."

Fighting this would be useless so Beca let her go, watching the retreat. She wasn't surprised when Chloe went into Aubrey's bedroom. That's where she had been sleeping for the last few days anyway.

She pushed the bowl of soup to the center of the table and laid her head in its place. There was no more fight in her, only anger and sadness. They swelled to take over everything. She couldn't fathom caring anymore.

The push and pull of her love for Chloe and her jealousy was starting to wear the thread between them thin. She knew that if it kept going she would blow up. All the progress she had managed since starting Barden would be upended. Trust was never her strongest trait.

?￢ﾛﾈ?

Curled into cotton blanket on Aubrey's bed, Chloe found the phone. Aubrey usually took it everywhere so what did it mean that the day she disappeared she'd left it behind?

She didn't tell anyone about the phone. Yet. she clutched it to her as she lay there, trying to capture the memories it held in the form of pictures and videos. If they could just get out and look for her but current predictions gave the impression that the storm was here for the foreseeable future.

Scrolling through the pictures again gave her a mix of nausea and relief. Fearful feelings and regret over everything. How she was behaving, the space she left opened inside her, and most terribly, how unfair this was to Beca. Even she hadn't known how much she relied on Aubrey until she was no longer there.

The island was small but the house was far up on it's highest point, surrounded by trees and hardly discernible from the air or land. The only way to get there was by boat. Aubrey didn't mind. She was starting to like it here.

Though she was sure that she wasn't forgetting everything. The last years seemed to be missing from her mind. The repository of memories were spotty at best, confined to name, place, and flashes of pictures from a life that seemed to belong to a stranger.

She stood by the window in the warm, cabin, looking over the storm's progress. The radio wouldn't work, there was no phone, and it was too dangerous to chance a crossing to the mainland. She was stuck, but that didn't mean that she was sad.

Freedom lay in not remembering. Piper had made her more than comfortable. The last few days were an odd, new beginning. She had become used to the gaps in memory and though discovering likes and dislikes was a disorienting process, it was also fun. She was happy in a way that only ignorance could account for.

Piper joined her in the living room, sitting on the couch across from the window and adjacent to the fireplace. Her supply of food was quite extensive and there was wood stockpiled and stored in the cool, dry shed behind the house. They could stay here for a year if they had to.

It was a thought Piper could not deny letting sneak into her head. The mystery that Aubrey presented was a bit exciting and though she sequestered herself here on this island she was always yearning for company, but a particular type of company.

"You alright?"

A smile, more of a smirk, lit Aubrey's face. "I don't know. I guess from one viewpoint I'm great but from another maybe not." She let her arms fall to her side and turned from the window. "How can anyone be fine if they can't remember exactly who they are?"

Moments of silence passed. Piper smoothed the blanket on the chair and Aubrey sat on the couch facing her. "You remember your name. That's something." There was something inexplicably shared between them. For an acquaintance of three days it was a different kind of thing.

"Yeah, my name, where I lived, and that I really like Sephora." She shrugged and settled back into the cool leather of the couch. "Other than that it's kind of blank. Well, besides the flashes of images."

She hadn't exactly told Piper but there was a particular face that appeared to her at times. Usually when she was being quiet and still, like a sneak attack on her consciousness. "I feel like I should be more worried about it but I'm just not."

Piper sat forward, drawn in. "There's nothing wrong with that. You can't force yourself to remember." The way Aubrey stared back at her, unafraid and with an undercurrent of challenge thrilled Piper. It hooked her. In her thirty years of residence on earth there was nothing like it.

Little did she know that the same was true for Aubrey. The snag was the complete sense of betrayal that she felt at the same time. Here she was stole away in a beautiful cabin, in the middle of a storm, and all she could think about was the woman that rescued her.

"Maybe I wanted to forget," she said. They hadn't touched other than the natural way in which two people inhabiting the same space did. A slight brush as they slid past each other in the morning, a light hand on the shoulder, or even the odd joining of hands when washing up.

They hadn't touched, yet Aubrey felt like they were in constant contact. Piper was beautiful and her story was quite compelling. A displaced woman, who drifted until she found this island. She was a writer, poet, an artist but one that had worn every hat imaginable.

She was unlike any person Aubrey had met, not that she remembered most of them at the moment, yet, she still knew that it was true. So, this felt like starting over and the side of intrigue attached made it all the more interesting.

"Maybe you did," Piper answered finally. "I'm kind of an advocate for fate so I won't disagree with you there."

Aubrey smiled again and thought of what it would mean to reach out. That nagging image came back into her again, blasting the thought away. Red hair, blue eyes, and a smile. it was all in the smile.

Now, she disappeared into herself, searching for this person. _Who are you? _"When do you think the storm will let up?" The question fell from her lips with the urgency of a darkened conscience to urge it on.


End file.
